Fortune Favors the Brave

Andrew Hoing '11 has always had a slight obsession with Wheel of Fortune. This fall, he put his skills to the test as a contestant on the television show nicknamed 'America's game,' which challenges players to guess hidden phrases while spinning a wheel that determines prize amounts per turn. In his episode, aired on Jan. 3, 2023, Andrew walked away with $77,995 worth of prizes. 

Some may call it luck, but Andrew has been preparing for this moment since childhood. "I was a weird kid," Andrew laughs. "Wheel of Fortune's a family show for most people, but no one in my family watched it. I just loved it, and I used to watch that and Jeopardy every day when I'd come home from school."

He credits his wife, Claire Murphy-Cook '11, for kick-starting this journey. Andrew met Claire at Trinity University in their junior year. "We both lived in South Hall, and we were both communication majors with classes together." He jokes, "It was almost forced interaction." They married in 2014 and currently live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Claire saw an ad on the local news station for Wheel of Fortune open tryouts coming to South Florida and told Andrew, "You have to do this!"

Andrew did his first tryout for the show in 2019 when the 'Wheelmobile,' a van decked out with a miniature wheel, rolled into town. From there, he got a callback for a second round at a ballroom in Miami. "You had to do a timed written test where they give you parts of completed puzzles," he explains, "and you are asked to fill the rest in." Weeks later, he was shocked and excited when his acceptance letter showed up in the mail.

Once he was selected as a contestant, he waited almost three years to film due to delays with the pandemic. Things quickly sped up in November 2022. "I had less than two weeks' notice from the time I got the call to appear on the show to then be there in person," Andrew says. He flew to Los Angeles and went straight to Sony Pictures Studios. 

"When you show up, you get there super early in the morning, and you sign a bunch of paperwork," he remembers. "Then you get your hair and makeup done and meet some of the other contestants." One highlight for Andrew was waiting to record in the neighboring studio, where Jeopardy is filmed, and taking practice spins on the wheel. "They coach you up on what to do, what to say. Basically, they want you to feel as comfortable as possible when the cameras are actually on." 

Still, he couldn't help but feel nervous. "When you're practicing, you're kind of like, 'Oh my God, there's all these lights, cameras, everything.'" 

The hosts, Pat Sajak and Vanna White, walked out onto set, and the cameras started to roll. "You just jump into it right away. I solved the first puzzle, which kind of calmed the nerves a little bit." 

Filming was largely uninterrupted. The whole thing lasted roughly 30 minutes. "What you see on TV is exactly what happens," Andrew says. 

On the next spin, he maintained possession of the wheel, making it a 'perfect round.' "I ended up winning more than $15,000 that round." He smiles, "The puzzle I solved was 'when the cat's away, the mice will play hopscotch.'" 

When asked about his strategy, he feels "all that kind of goes out the window when you're on stage and the lights are on. It's more just try and relax and have as much fun as possible."

Andrew's instincts—and the years of watching the show—paid off. In total, he won a beach vacation to St. Croix, a Mazda CX-9 worth $46,945, and nearly $20,000 in cash. He is most excited about the trip. "It's our 10th wedding anniversary next year. So hopefully, we will put some of the money towards making the trip a nice vacation to celebrate," he says.

Andrew now works in growth marketing for a restaurant software company but initially did not know where he would take his communication degree. "When I graduated from Trinity, I had no clue what I wanted to do as a profession," he says. "I took an administrative job to start getting work experience." 

After a year, he became a residential life coordinator at Trinity. Andrew remembers, "I had thought I wanted to work in higher education and student development, and that's how I ended up back at Trinity. I loved it. I ultimately pivoted into a marketing role, which is the area I am in now."  

His advice to Trinity grads is to explore and build on connections: "Don't get discouraged if your first job is not your dream job. Don't be afraid to try new things and figure out what you want to do." 

"Life's a bit like spinning the wheel," Andrew says. "There's definitely luck involved, but to capitalize on that luck, you have to go for it and have fun with it."